Thread: CBN (Cubic Boron Nitride) grinding wheel?

Is anybody using a CBN grinding wheel for sharpening HSS? What are your impressions? Worthwhile? Where can one buy CBN wheels in Australia?
Regards,
Tom

I have one, I would not buy another simply because they are extremely expensive and do not last as long as you would hope for the price.

Mine is no where near as effective as it was when new and I would not say it has done a lot of work.

I've had mine for 4 years and just noticed recently it is just not quite as good as when it was new. I haven't exactly been that kind to mine but if I can get another year out of it I might buy a new one.

I got mine from here
https://www.cwsonline.com.au/shop/ca...rinding-wheels

g

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Originally Posted by .RC.

Mine is no where near as effective as it was when new and I would not say it has done a lot of work.

100% agree. Mine is the same brand as Bob's. It's noticeably less aggressive on the left side of the wheel, which I use the most, than right and it's done very little work.

Most of the CBN wheels being sold in Australia at places like CWS and Carbatecc etc, are budget plated items for occasional use, and are affordable, a "industrial" resin bonded wheel will out last several plated wheels
and cost over twice the price

Reading on another forum there was a discussion about how because CBN wheels were so good when new, folks do more shaping with the finer grit ones which they are not really designed to do. Mine is a 180 grit and I have used it a fair bit for shaping and was wondering if that contributed to its slow demise. Next time I was thinking I would get an 80 for shaping and leave the 180 I have for just touching up edges?

Originally Posted by BobL

Next time I was thinking I would get an 80 for shaping and leave the 180 I have for just touching up edges?

I reckon that's a good idea. Mine is a 240 grit which they don't seem to sell any more. Perhaps that's why mine is wearing out quickly?

Originally Posted by jack620

I reckon that's a good idea. Mine is a 240 grit which they don't seem to sell any more. Perhaps that's why mine is wearing out quickly?

yeah I'd say so. I mainly use mine to touchup lathe HHS and Crobalt diamond profile bits. More often than I like, the Crobalts looses a small chip off the end of the tip but much more metal needs to be removed than you might think to get a sharp point tip again. This should really be done on an lower grit than 180.

The woody turners that seem to get a long life from them are just swiping their turning chisels a couple of times to touch up their cutting edge - they don't usually have to remove metal to get past divots in an edge or usually shape with their CBNs.

You may want to have a look at this site, he has wheels in every size and grit.
https://woodturnerswonders.com/collections/cbn-wheels
Rgds,
Crocy.

Hi Guys,

I originally got one for use on my four facet drill grinder, but I found it very aggressive and so I switched to a resin bonded diamond one, 300 grit size. Its much better and doesn’t leave grinding tracks on the drill edges.

I'm assuming CBN and also bonded diamond wheels do not need to be dressed or trued, does this mean that more care is needed in mounting the wheel so it runs true, I've seen videos on youtube of a wheel being mounted on a bench type grinder and I can see run out when the wheel is spun over by hand, is this much of an issue or can it be ignored ?

Bonded wheels need to be dressed plated wheels do no, although both varieties should be balanced as should any type of grinding wheel, the more run out you have the less accuracy you will have and
will get less life from the wheel

I've read comments on other forums that bonded diamond is for carbide and cbn is for hss, using bonded diamond on hss will result in the wheel clogging - is this correct ?

Here's a good review of CBN wheels. Toward the end of the video he says CBN wheels have a breaking-in period during which they cut more aggressively. I'm hoping that's what I experienced, rather than premature wearing of the wheel.

https://youtu.be/IOXXiPK1L4s

Familyguy that is correct Diamond should not be used on steel